Bangladeshi Ferry Capsizes Southwest of Dhaka With 200 Aboard

Rescue effort is in progress

A Bangladeshi river ferry capsized about 18 miles southwest of the capital of Dhaka while crossing the Padma River on Monday, the Associated Press reports.

Initial reports said that the boat, called the Pinak-6, was carrying around 200 passengers, though local media has ventured that as many as 250 may have been onboard.

The success of the ongoing rescue operation remains uncertain, though authorities confirmed that two people had died. Tofazzal Hossain, a local police chief, told the Wall Street Journal that at least two people died and, if eyewitness accounts prove correct, as many as 200 people may have perished. Earlier statements that government and military rescue efforts had pulled 44 people from the waters of the Padma River could not be verified.